One day before a rally last week in Hauppauge, Debbie Woodley, a senior direct support professional for East End Disability Associates’ creative arts program in Riverhead, took a client by the hand and slowly helped her trace out the wording on a sign: “Respect the needs of the developmentally disabled and the DSPs who care for them!!!”
“The parents are always in tears,” said Matthew Kuriloff, the 35-year-old coordinator of East End Disability Associates’ Community Arts Program. The downtown Riverhead nonprofit launched its theater and arts program in January 2013 — and its latest production, which premiered April 25 at Bellport’s Gateway Playhouse, provided much to provoke tears of joy. (more…)